CONNECTICUT 
Agricultural  Expt.  Station 

Connecticut  Law  Relating  to 
Insect  Pests  ?*nd  Plant 
Diseases, 


UC-NRLF 


THE  CONNECTICUT 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  ifT 


NEW  HAVEN,  CONN., 
OFFICE  OF  STATE  ENTOMOLOGIST, 


THE  CONNECTICUT  LAW  RELATING  TO  INSECT 
PESTS  AND  PLANT  DISEASES. 


AS    AMENDED    BY    THE 


GENERAL   ASSEMBLY    OF    1903. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1901  first  enacted  a  law  concerning 
insect  pests  which  has  been  published  in  bulletin  134  of  this 
Station  and  also  in  the  first  report  of  the  State  Entomologist 
(Report  of  this  Station  for  1901,  Part  III,  p.  229). 

The  General  Statutes  of  the  State  were  revised  by  a  com- 
mittee on  revision  during  the  years  1901-1903  and  the  insect 
pest  law  as  revised  by  this  committee  and  adopted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  at  the  beginning  of  the  session  of  1903  was 
printed  in  the  second  report  of  the  State  Entomologist  (Report 
of  this  Station  for  1902,  Part  II,  p.  100).  Later,  during  the 
session  of  1903,  two  amendments  were  passed.  These  amend- 
'  mends  to  Sections  4387  and  4388  are  herein  printed  in  bold- 
faced type. 

THE  INSECT  PEST  LAW. 
Chapter  238,  General  Statutes  of  Connecticut. 

Section  4386.  State  entomologist;  appointment.  Said  board 
of  control  shall  appoint  a  state  entomologist  to  hold  office 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  board,  who  shall  have  an  office  at  the 
experiment  station,  but  shall  receive  no  compensation  other 
than  his  regular  salary  as  a  member  of  the  station  staff.  He 

437592 

S- 


may  appoint   such   number  of  deputies,   not   exceeding  three, 
as  he  may  deem  necessary. 

Sec.  4387.  Duties.  The  state  entomologist,  either  personally 
or  through  his  deputies,  shall  visit  any  orchard,  field,  garden, 
nursery,  0£  storehouse,  on  request  of  the  owner,  to  advise 
tre&igfent  .agaS^l;  $£sts.  He  may  inspect  any  orchard,  field, 
•  or  g^rdeiif  j«^>ublic»pr 'private  grounds,  which  he  may  know  or 
"•have" •reason  tl^sospVcVto  be  infested  with  San  Jose  scale  or  any 
serious  pests  or  infectious  diseases,  when  in  his  judgment  such 
pests  or  infectious  diseases  are  a  menace  to  adjoining  owners; 
and  may  order  the  owner,  occupant,  or  person  in  charge 
thereof,  in  writing,  to  properly  spray  or  give  other  suitable 
treatment,  or  to  cut  and  destroy  any  such  diseased  trees  or 
shrubs,  if  in  the  opinion  of  the  state  entomologist  such  action 
is  necessary,  and  the  owner  thereof  shall  not  recover  from  nor 
be  recompensed  therefor  by  the  state.  If  the  owner  of  such 
orchard,  field,  or  garden  neglects  or  refuses  to  comply  with  the 
order  of  the  said  state  entomologist,  he  shall  be  fined  not  more 
than  fifty  dollars.  The  state  entomologist  may  issue  such  bulle- 
tins of  said  experiment  station  as  in  his  judgment  are  needed 
to  convey  information  about  pests ;  may  conduct  experiments 
and  investigations  regarding  injurious  insects  and  the  remedies 
for  their  attacks ;  diffuse  such  information  by  means  of  corre- 
spondence, lectures,  and  published  matter ;  and  may  employ 
such  assistants  in  his  office,  laboratory,  or  in  the  field,  and  pur- 
chase such  apparatus  and  supplies  as  may  be  nee  -ssary.  He 
shall  keep  a  detailed  account  of  expenses,  and  publish  each 
year  a  report  of  such  expenses,  and  of  the  work  done. 

Sec.  4388.  Certificate  of  inspection  of  nursery  stock.*  All 
nursery  stock  shipped  into  this  state  from  any  other  state, 
county,  or  province,  shall  bear  on  each  package  a  certificate 
that  the  contents  of  said  package  have  been  inspected  by  a  state 
or  government  officer  and  that  said  contents  have  been  thor- 
oughly fumigated  and  appear  free  from  all  dangerous  insects 
or  disease.  In  case  nursery  stock  is  brought  within  the  state 
without  such  a  certificate,  the  consignee  may  return  it  to  the 
consignor  at  the  latter's  expense,  or  may  call  the  state  ento- 
mologist to  inspect  the  same  and  deduct  the  costs  of  such 
inspection  from  the  consignor's  bill  for  such  stock.  This  sec- 
tion shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  part  of  every  contract  made  in 


—3— 

this  state  for  the  sale  of  nursery  stock  to  be  shipped  into  this 
state. 

Sec.  4389.  Inspection  of  nurseries.  Penalty.  All  nurseries 
or  places  where  nursery  stock  is  grown,  sold,  or  offered  for 
sale,  shall  be  inspected  at  least  once  each  ^e^r.b^^the  state»£$t0- 
mologist  or  one  of  his  deputies,  and  if«do**^ericw3  peSts  -are 
found,  a  certificate  to  that  effect  mayj"be  g,i\^n^:*J^'6dt^i:^5ts\ 
are  found,  the  owner  shall  take  such  nleasuYe*S  to  stopf>ffe§s"ttfe*' 
same  as  the  state  entomologist  may  prescribe.  If  such  meas- 
ures are  not  immediately  taken  by  the  owner  of  such  nursery 
or  place  such  certificate  shall  be  withheld,  and  every  nursery- 
man who  does  not  hold  such  a  certificate,  after  the  first  annual 
inspection,  who  shall  sell  or  otherwise  dispose  of  nursery  stock, 
shall  be  fined  not  more  than  fifty  dollars.  The  form  of  certifi- 
cate and  the  season  for  inspecting  nurseries  may  be  determined 
by  the  state  entomologist.  The  state  entomologist  or  any  of 
his  deputies  may  at  all  times  enter  any  public  or  private  grounds 
in  the  performance  of  his  duty. 

Sec.  4390.  Appropriation.  The  sum  of  three  thousand  dol- 
lars is  appropriated  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  Sections 
4386,  4387,  4388,  and  4389,  which  sum  is  to  be  paid  quarterly 
to  the  treasurer  of  said  station,  who  shall  hold  the  same  subject 
to  the  order  of  the  state  entomologist. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  amendments  give  the  state  ento- 
mologist discretionary  power  to  cause  the  destruction  or  proper 
treatment  of  infested  trees  and  shrubs,  and  if  the  owner  refuses 
or  neglects  to  act  after  having  been  duly  ordered  in  writing  by 
the  state  entomologist,  he  will  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  not  more 
than  fifty  dollars. 

It  is  also  necessary  that  nursery  stock  shipped  into  the  state 
shall  bear  a  statement  that  it  has  been  thoroughly  fumigated  in 
addition  to  the  certificate  of  inspection  issued  by  a  state  or  gov- 
ernment officer. 

These  amendments  became  operative  July  ist,  1903. 

All  applications  for  inspection  of  orchards  and  nurseries,  or 
complaints  regarding  infested  trees,  should  be  made  to 

W.  E.  BRITTON,  State  Entomologist, 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 

New  Haven,  Conn. 


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